The feature comes as government bodies across the globe have begun cracking down on influencers and brands not adhering to disclosure guidelines, including the FTC in the USA and ANAA in Australia.

Under the disclosure guidelines, influencers could comply by tagging posts with #ad, #sp (sponsored post) or #sponsored. Now, influencers will be encouraged (and eventually required) to officially label commercial relationships through Instagram’s settings when they create a sponsored post. The feature can be used to mark content as paid in both posts and stories.

The new feature is designed to make it clear when an influencer has been paid for a post, rather than burying disclosure in the hashtags below (that are too often missed by consumers) and also allows influencers to link directly to the brands who are sponsoring their content to share campaign metrics with them.

The feature, which is being described by Instagram as a ‘paid partnership’ tag, will be rolled out to select influencers and brands in coming weeks, allowing Instagram to gather feedback on the new tool.

Instagram’s new feature is a win for influencers, their audiences and brands alike. Firstly, it assists both influencers and the brands working with them to ensure they are compliant with disclosure guidelines across the globe. Secondly, the campaign metrics tool will allow brands and marketers to more easily evaluate the success of each influencer campaign and thirdly, it ensures influencers and brands maintain a level of transparency (which we believe fosters all-important consumer trust) with their audiences.